Johnson comes to Texans’ rescue with game-winning TD catch

Share this:

He kept his head down, waiting on the sideline, thinking “we can’t lose this game,” and peeking at the scoreboard now and then.

Only 4:21 remained in overtime and the Jaguars had the ball at the Texans’ 47-yard line. It fell to a defense that gave up passes of 81, 67, 63 and 39 yards in regulation to get the ball back to the Texans’ offense.

The defense did just that in four short plays, setting up a career-defining moment.

Johnson’s 48-yard walk-off touchdown, off a pass from quarterback Matt Schaub, capped the greatest statistical game of the receiver’s long career.

“It was a perfect call,” said Johnson, who finished the game with 14 catches for 273 yards. “Everything just opened up. I just took off running.”

As Johnson waited for the defense to get the offense the ball, Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne went for Cecil Shorts first, but that pass fell incomplete.

Defense first

Next the Jaguars tried a running play, but Texans outside linebacker Brooks Reed and defensive end J.J. Watt met running back Jalen Parmele at the line of scrimmage.

Henne then went to Laurent Robinson but didn’t complete that pass. On fourth down, he went deep for receiver Justin Blackmon. Blackmon had converted a fourth down on the previous overtime drive when he ran a route shallower than safety Danieal Manning expected and caught a 15-yard pass.

Not this time. On fourth down, Manning was right where he needed to be, positioned to make an interception.

“I would have caught the ball,” Manning said. “I was actually trying to catch that ball, and I had it. When it hit me in my (groin), only thing I was thinking about was protecting (myself), and I dropped the ball.”

Time to shine

Johnson rose as the Texans took over.

“When they stopped them on fourth down, I was like, ‘We’re going to win it,’ ” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘We’ve got to win. This is the best opportunity, and we’ve got to take advantage.’ ”

He’d been doing it all day. Johnson had a drop early but shook it off. Almost single-handedly, Johnson made sure the Texans stayed within striking distance in a rare game in which they had to come from behind.

Schaub took a shotgun snap, stepped back to the Texans’ 45-yard line and threw a screen pass to Johnson, who was right at the line of scrimmage.

“When I caught the ball, and I saw how open I was, I was just looking around like, ‘Where are the defenders?’ ” Johnson said. “I took off running and I kept looking, and I thought the cornerback would come from the outside, but he wasn’t there.

One man to beat

“It was just the safety left, so I was saying to myself, ‘I can’t let him tackle me.’ ”

That safety was Dawan Landry, a generally strong tackler, but he could get only a hand on Johnson.

It wasn’t enough to impede the receiver, though, and Johnson kept running.

Jaguars defensive end John Chick sprinted for Johnson as he approached the goal line, but Johnson was much too fast and determined.

“I just heard the crowd erupt,” Texans left tackle Duane Brown said. “We had screens going to both sides, so I was running out there.

Reliant eruption

“I heard the crowd erupt, and I knew something had happened. Once I saw him open his stride up, I knew nobody was going to catch him.”

Johnson didn’t stop in the end zone. He kept running out the back of it and leaped into the stands. When he descended, a pack of delirious teammates met him.

“You even saw emotion from Dre, who rarely shows it on the field,” Walter said. “He was fired up scoring that winning touchdown. We knew we were in a dogfight with a divisional game.”